Advances in medical care have resulted in longer life expectancy for people with Down syndrome. Many adults with Down syndrome now live well into their 50s and 60s. Research has found that all adults with Down syndrome over the age of 40 develop plaques and tangles in their brains similar to those seen in persons with Alzheimer's disease. However, it is important to note that not all people with Down syndrome who develop these brain changes will go on to develop dementia and not all functional decline is due to dementia.

Over the next few months we will be adding links and information to this page about common causes of decline in function with aging, suggestions for intervention and current research on DS and dementia.

This month we have uploaded a power point presentation given by Dr. Lilian Thorpe (Departments of Community Health and Epidemiology and Psychiatry (University of Saskatchewan) at McMaster University. This presentation gives an excellent overview of the most current information about Down syndrome and dementia.